


Muse Of Hope | Eridan X OC

by VagabondWocky



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 8,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26296210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VagabondWocky/pseuds/VagabondWocky
Summary: Be Aradia Megido'Please... help..." Accompanied by a lot of gibberish about some invention made you sit up sweating. What was that? It wasn't a voice you knew. You sigh and lay back down on your couch."Please... help!" The voice makes you jump to your feet. This time it had imagery with it and you were aware of what had to be done.Life has been good. You and your session had beaten the game a couple sweeps ago. Everyone had settled down to enjoy life, for the most part. You were lucky everyone's hives were relatively close to each other, it made gathering all the trolls an easy task."WHY ARE YOU GATHERING US LIKE CATTLE?!""it seems we have a mission to do."~~~I never thought I'd be writing a Homestuck fanfiction in 2020. I've been in the HS fandom for around 10 years now and when 4/13 hit the other day I figured I might as well contribute.This story is super short compared to what I usually write but at least it's finished which gives it a HUGE lead compared to my other fics.I also did really enjoy writing a shorter style of story like this, so I might have more planned for the future!I hope you guys enjoy!
Relationships: Eridan Ampora/Original Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

"D --> Why are we going to see Dirk?" Equius asks.

Aradia just keeps leading the group through the building, knowing that Dirk was in his main lab. "i had a dream about something we need to do."

"4ND BY W3 YOU M34N 4LL OF US?" Terezi speaks up.

"some of us, yes. we will decide that later."

"And I'm guessing this something we have to do includes Dirk?" Vriska sighs but before Aradia can answer they enter into Dirks lab.

Both Jake and Dirk were working furiously at a machine. The bags under both of their eyes showed that they didn't get much sleep. In fact the bags matched the ones under Aradia's eyes.

"i didn't know you had the dream as well, jake." Aradia speaks up, making the two scientists pause their work.

"Partly. Really all I got though was that only trolls will be able to safely travel through this portal." Jake rubs the back of his neck.

"PORTAL?" Karkat raises his eyebrows.

Aradia nods, "yes. we're going to another universe."

Eridan raises his hand, "Wwhy?"

Sollux nods, "Yeah, why?"

"sollux, don't act like you didn't get at least some of this plea for help as well. there's no way with your psychic abilities you didn't." Aradia stares at him.

It's quiet as everyone looks to Sollux who eventually gives in and sighs, wiping his eyes. "Iit'2 really bad... whatever2 happeniing two them..."

"I'll have the portal up by tonight, whoever sent out those signals entrusted the right person but I'm gonna have to write down everything so you guys can get home. You'll have to build an exact replica of this and in a pretty close range to wherever it is it brings you." Dirk explains as he sits down at his desk, typing furiously on his computer.

"OR WHAT?" Karkat asks.

Aradia answers, "we end up in a different universe than this one. with an even smaller chance of actually being able to return to this one."


	2. Chapter 2

After being told what time Dirk and Jake would be done with the portal the group made their way back to the main area of the giant building that housed Dirks' studies.

The group had decided that they should bring a smaller group. Aradia, Sollux, Karkat, Eridan, Gamzee, and Equius would be going.

"SO WHAT EXACTLY SHOULD WE BRING?" Karkat paces.

"From what ii wa2 told, iit'2 a ciiviiliizatiion extremely 2iimiilar two our2 only a biit more advanced iin technology." Sollux mentions from his spot on the couch.

Aradia nods, "we shouldn't have to bring anything really. maybe just some money in case we have to buy food or stay at a hotel."

As Aradia says this they all turn to Eridan. It's quiet as Eridan scowls at the group.

"Oh yeah. Bring the rich one. You guys don't need me unless moneys invvolvved. I get it." He grumbles.

"I cAn BrInG sOmE mOtHeR fUcKiN mOnEy," Gamzee raises his hand.

"D --> I'm sorry sir but I don't think monopoly money counts..."

"I'll bring money.." Eridan rubs his face.

"SO WHY EXACTLY DO THESE TROLLS NEED HELP? LIKE IS NO ONE ELSE SERIOUSLY GOING TO QUESTION THIS?" Karkat crosses his arms.

"the message was sort of vague there..." Aradia frowns.

"Great. For all wwe knoww, you guys could be leading us right into someplace wwhere evvery troll is hated and killed for sport." Eridan grunts.

Equius speaks up, "D --> I'm not so sure we should go if we don't have the full scope of the situation."

"I tHiNk We ShOuLd AlL cHiLl OuT. i'M sUrE iT'lL bE mOtHeR fUcKiN fInE. iF iT's A cIvIlIzAtIoN sImIlAr To OuRs, LiKe ThEy SaId It WaS, i DoN't ThInK iT's VeRy LiKeLy ThAt TrOlLs CoUlD bE hUnTeD fOr SpOrT sO eAsIlY." Gamzee leans back, his hands behind his head.

"D --> Yes... sir..." Equius wipes a bit of sweat from his brow.

"We 2hould briing our weapon2 two. Iif they are the 2ame then they'll under2tand that 2ome troll2 have weapon2. And iif iit'2 a2 bad a2 ii thiink iit ii2, we're gonna need them." Sollux admits and everyone nods.


	3. Chapter 3

"We'll Be Waiting For You Guys," Kanaya crosses her arms.

Feferi jumps around the group, hugging everyone. "You better come back soon! I don't want to miss you guys too muc)(!"

Karkat pushes Feferi off of him, "WHY DO YOU THINK I'M GOING WITH THE IDIOTS. I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THEY COME BACK AT ALL."

Nepeta steps forward from the group of trolls that weren't going, ":33 < I'm coming too!"

"D --> No you're not, this is far too unknown. It could be e%tremely dangerous for all we know." Equius shakes his head.

":33 < I'm not letting my moirail go without me and that's final!" She jumps onto Equius who looks around the group to get them to help out.

Sollux sighs, "Iif you really want two come ii won't 2top you..."

"it might be nice to have another girl come along anyway," Aradia offers and Nepeta cheers, jumping around the group excitedly.

The group quiets down while Dirk starts to explain step by step how he and Jake assembled the portal.

Sollux had the notes that Dirk had printed out for them and was scribbling extra notes as he listened along. Surprisingly the only other troll listening along intently was Karkat since he was going to be the other one being depended on to get this portal working.

But he wouldn't be caught taking notes. He wasn't stupid and could figure shit out just by reading the notes Dirk had made already.

After another hour of Dirk droning on he sighs, "Here's this." He hands a chunky bracelet to Sollux. "Don't use it as a first resort, only if shit goes down. It will only bring back two people so if a dire situation arises you guys are going to have to pick favorites." Jake nudges him letting him know that his joke wasn't funny.

Dirk sighs and runs his hand through his hair, "Bottom line is, get the portal built. The portal has to be close to wherever you're teleported in but the bracelet can bring two people back from anywhere." He crosses his arms, "and make sure you come home. I'll never hear the end of it from Dave if you don't."

After a bit more talking and Sollux asking Dirk a few final questions regarding the portal the seven trolls are ready.

The portal comes to life, a weak white light showing from the platform. The group waves as they walk through, various emotions covering their faces.

Karkat steps out of the portal only to run into Equius' arm. "WHAT THE FUCK MAN?!" He asks but Equius doesn't answer, just looks down the cliff that everyone was very surely way too close to walking off of. "OH... UH... THANKS."

"D --> No problem."

The trolls turn towards the town. Wasn't it kind of dangerous to build a town on a literal cliff?

They didn't care enough to ask as they walked towards civilization.

The town looked average, almost exactly like the one they all lived in now. If anything the town looked similar to the ones they would see in France which is someplace their human friends had taken them on a trip.


	4. Chapter 4

The group hadn't necessarily discussed how they would find whatever trolls were sending them the plea signals, but Karkat seemed so confident that none of the other trolls questioned this lack of planning on his part.

As they approached the town where there were humans just walking around the trolls put together Karkat's plan. Of course the humans would point the trolls in the direction of other trolls. If this universe was similar to theirs then there were only twelve families so it's not like there was a huge amount of trolls.

The human to troll ratio was very uneven.

"Look!!! More trolls!" One human shouts and within seconds the group of trolls were surrounded by whatever humans just happened to be out and about.

"CaLm ThE mOtHeR fUcK dOwN mY bRoS," Gamzee tries to get the group to calm down.

It didn't work.

It was impossible to hear anything because all the humans were shouting over each other. They tried to put up with it but Karkat had clearly had enough.

"SHUT UP!!! GOD DAMMIT ONE AT A TIME!" Karkat successfully calms the crowd down and someone speaks up.

"Where did you guys come from? The trolls that lived here said they were the only ones."

Karkat exchanged a glance with Aradia, wondering if they should tell the humans but figured it would be better to be honest about certain parts of their mission.

"WE'RE FROM AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE." He answers.

Another human speaks up, "Are you guys nice trolls like the ones that were here before?"

"WHAT THE EVER LIVING FUCK DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"

"The queen is a troll! She's the nicest troll ever and she spends all her time doing stuff to help us out!"

"Waiit, how many troll2 are here?" Sollux asks.

"There used to be twelve but then the queen, Mercon, killed them all. She's not bad though, she's never harmed any of us humans."

The trolls all look between themselves, wondering if the plea for help that they had received was from one of the trolls that was killed and if they were too late.

"how long ago did that happen?" Aradia questions the same human.

"Uhm... A few years ago at this point."

That really only gave them more questions. Was there a chance that the plea message took years to get to them? Or was there a new issue?

"WELL WHERE CAN WE FIND HER?" Karkat asks no one in particular.

A new human speaks up, "Oh you probably shouldn't go meet her. What if she kills you guys too?"

"Not only that but she is kind of the queen. None of us are really allowed to be by her unless she comes to us. She does have this bakery that we built just for her and she uses it to cook for anyone that can't afford food and stuff. We can only watch her from the window though!" Another human adds.

"IS THERE REALLY NOT ANY OTHER WAY WE CAN FUCKING SEE HER?!" Karkat growls.

"You'll have to go ask the guards at the manor she lives in. Maybe they'll consider it since you guys are trolls too."

"They'll probably still say no though, it's really rare that anyone gets a private audience with the queen."

"Ju2t poiint u2 iin the diirectiion of the manor." Sollux shrugs.

The crowd all turns to look down the main street of the city. There stood the manor, farther up the hill and seemingly closer to the cliff.

They must really not care about safety standards.

The trolls make their way through the crowd that had grown in size, heading through the town and towards the manor.


	5. Chapter 5

"Get lost or else!"

"You'll just be Queen Mercon's next meal."

"If you really think one troll can take dowwn all sevven of us at once you must be insane," Eridan frowns while crossing his arms.

"She killed all eleven of her friends and they were all high bloods."

"What makes you think you weaklings are any different? Bring a couple high bloods and you think you're safe?"

Karkat goes to swing but Sollux stops him, pulling him to the back of the group so he can calm down.

"one of the townspeople mentioned that we could at least watch her while she works? at a cafe?" Aradia asks the guards.

They seem to ponder if they should be helpful at all but after a one over of Aradia and a smirk at each other they shrug. "She should be over at the cafe right now actually, preparing for a large event being held tomorrow."

"If you head back down the main road into town take the second left and it'll be the huge glass front store. You'll be able to tell where it is because a couple guards will be in front." The second guard adds.

"thank you." Aradia nods as the trolls start their walk back towards the town.

"THANKS FOR NOTHING ASSWIPES!" Karkat flips them off.

Once they were a safe distance from the guards Aradia spoke up.

"there's something weird going on here..."

"D --> Yes, the humans praising a troll as a queen is very strange. Unless of course she is a highb100d." Equius nods.

"not... something deeper than that." Aradia shakes her head and the group is mostly quiet for the rest of the walk.

"D --> I wonder what she's like." Equius thinks out loud.

":33 < She must be qu33n fur a reason." Nepeta points out.

"D --> If she's a highb100d you all better respect her as such." Equius points out, sweat forming on his brow at the thought of another highblood giving him orders.

":33 < I wonder if she's purtty!" Nepeta bounces a bit.

"Don't any of you be thinking about quadrants wwith her, if she's truly a highblood then she belongs wwith me." Eridan flips his hair a bit, his cape floating ever so slightly because of the wind.

"Whatever you 2ay, priince of hopele22ne22." Sollux grumbles.

Before Eridan can fire back an insult they turn the corner and immediately spot a few humans in front of a huge glass front, and of course, two guards right at the entrance.

They slowly push through to the front, listening to the humans gossip about how amazing the queen was for offering to do all the baking.

The trolls all glance between each other before Gamzee catches them off guard, "WoAh."

He seemed star struck, something that was very very uncommon for the clown.

"What iin the world..." Sollux mumbles as they followed his gaze and sure enough, they all had similar reactions.

Her horns were similar to Gamzee's but instead of pointing out they pointed inwards, almost touching each other in the middle. She had six black wings, three on each side of course, but instead of behaving like normal troll wings they were drooped and sort of just hanging there.

The color of her outfit caught Equius' attention the most but the rest of the trolls were surprised too. Fuschia.

She was wearing a black sweater with what looked to be the Prinius sign and a long skirt that had a slit going up the side. The only thing the slit revealed though was that her legs were wrapped in black bandages.

Eridan couldn't look away from the fins on the side of her head. The same as his but they seemed a bit larger. Perhaps she spent more time in the water.

The rest of the trolls, except for Equius, had moved onto a more serious issue that stuck out to them. She had long white hair that went down to her ankles.

There was an old tale, that if a troll suffered enough their natural black hair would turn white. But it was just that. A tale.

But was it purely coincidental with the plea for help they had received?

"D --> She's a high b100d." Equius points out.

"The guard2 diid 2ay the group of troll2 con2ii2ted of maiinly hiigh blood2," Sollux grunts.

Nepeta turns to the group, ":33 < Is her hair white naturally?"

Aradia thinks out loud, "if it is then we definitely need to get her out of here."

"HEY FUCKFACES, GET OUT OF THE WAY I WANNA TALK TO THE QUEEN!" The group turns to see Karkat in front of the two guards at the entrance.


	6. Chapter 6

Be Mercon Krofio.

You're a highblood who's moirailes were all slaughtered in front of you before you were forced to become a slave to the people. Well, not necessarily the people as much as just the guards. What kind of slave exactly?

You don't think you actually want to know the answer to that.

Continue working on the baking for the event.

You were exhausted. You had been up for almost thirty-six hours now just baking.

The tiredness was definitely getting to you. A few dropped pastries. Messy icing on cupcakes. You had wanted to start preparing for this event a few days ago but the guards didn't let you. Forcing you into this sort of crunch period.

**"Fuck-"** You hiss out, rushing to put the cookie tray on the cooling rack before rushing over to the sink to run the burn under cold water.

Of course now you can add touching the side of the oven to the list of fuck ups you'd made.

You'd been given a few hours earlier as a break but you didn't get much rest.

Why? You don't think you want to know the answer to that either.

What little sleep you do get these days is still haunted by flashbacks of you trying your best to save your friends. The anniversary of their death was coming up. Not that you'd get to celebrate it, or mourn it.

The cold water starts to run warm and brings you back from whatever distant planet your mind had wandered off to. You switch the water off and as you're turning back to your baking duties you freeze.

Outside of the bakery were seven trolls. Ones you had never seen before.

Had one of your pleas gone through? Finally?

You spent the rest of what little psychic strength you had left to send out one final plea a few days ago, and with it went your last bit of hope of being saved.

Ironic that you had been dubbed the 'Queen Of Hope' by your moirails, since your class was Muse of Hope.

You lock eyes with a troll who's hair is wild and he offers a chilled wave which sends you running through the bakery to the front door.

When you swing it open you hear the one with short nubby horns arguing with the guards but they all stop and look at you.

**"I dØn't see wԊy tԊey can't cØme in, dØ yØu?"** She offers a large smile, knowing she had backed the guards into a corner. Not like they could say no without being suspicious in front of the townspeople.

"FUCKING FINALLY!" The troll that had nubby horns pushed past the guards, the rest of the trolls following suit.

The second you close the door the troll with four horns turns to you, "Are you the one that 2ent out-" You rush to cut him off, placing a finger over his mouth gently.

The whole group seems surprised but you peak back at the guards and after making sure they aren't watching you slowly look through the bakery at every single camera that you knew had an audio receiver in it.

The trolls seemed to get the gist.

Time to play dumb.

**"I can't believe tԊere's more trØlls! WԊere did yØu guys come from? I'm MercØn KrufiØ, in case yØu didn't Ԋear from anyone else already."** You rub the back of your neck as you guide them all to a seating area and pour some tea.

"I'M KARKAT. THE GEMINI FUCK IS SOLLUX. ARADIA AND NEPETA. EQUIUS. GAMZEE. AND FISHDICK IS ERIDAN." The troll with the nubby horns introduces everyone.

Aradia speaks up, "we're from an alternate universe of sorts. a different session, if you will."

**"A different universe, tԊat's amazing!"** The entire group seems to pick up that your attitude and huge smile is completely fake. Good. The guards had taught you to speak more animated.

"D --> I must ask, what is your b100d color?" Equius seems to sweat a bit in anticipation.

**"FuscԊia, not tԊat it matters."**

"Pureblood?" Sollux asks with raised eyebrows and you nod.

Equius immediately kneels and makes Nepeta bow too which makes you freeze. You quickly reach out and pull them both up, blinking back tears as it reminds you of that fateful day. They were all forced to kneel as they were-

You shake your head, not wanting to remember. **"Please dØn't use sucԊ formalities witԊ me. TԊe blØØd caste Ԋasn't mattered in sweeps. TԊat's also wԊy tԊey were all killed sØ please... dØn't bØw tØ me."**

"KILLED?" Karkat asks, silently agreeing with Aradia that something weird was going on here for sure.

You shake your head, letting him know you can't say anything else while they're listening.

Before Karkat can reply again the back door to the bakery is slammed open and a few guards make their way in.

"Queen Mercon you have been requested back at the manor."

"We'll accompany you and the new trolls along."


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as the group entered into the throne room Mercon had been whisked off to a private chamber on the side with a couple planners to make final adjustments for the party tomorrow.

She didn't like the idea of leaving the trolls alone with the head guard, but she didn't really have much choice.

Something was off about this guard. The way he held himself seemed sinister. Even Gamzee was picking up on it.

And that's saying something.

"D --> I don't think we caught your name," Equius tries to fill the silence.

"General Carter. But you can just call me General." He doesn't stick his hand out to shake, not that any of the trolls wanted to shake his hand anyway.

"Whatever, Carter iit iis." Sollux mumbles, crossing his arms. They weren't exactly on a time crunch but he didn't like being in a different universe than anyone else.

They beat the game already. They should be enjoying life. Not risking it to come save a troll.

To clarify, he wasn't upset at Mercon for this. Only the people causing the problems.

Carter clenches his teeth before speaking up again, "Well as you have probably been made aware. Mercon killed all the other trolls in this world. So we'd like to get you guys out of here as soon as possible. How exactly did you get here?"

"WE CAME THROUGH A DIMENSIONAL PORTAL, IT'LL TAKE US A FEW DAYS TO BUILD IT TO GET HOME." Karkat crosses his arms.

"Longer if wwe don't havve help." Eridan points out and the trolls nod.

"Well we'd be happy to help, we can lend you some of our best technicians so you have some extra hands!" Carter holds his arms out, almost as if he was flexing some large amount of power. He wasn't the queen, but he seemed to act as a power house.

"WE WON'T NEED EXTRA HANDS, JUST THE MATERIALS. WE'RE MORE THAN CAPABLE OF BUILDING IT OURSELVES." Karkat rolls his eyes.

The trolls weren't sure if Carter wanted to help out so they could steal the plans for the portal but they weren't going to let anyone get their hands on the plans.

Dirk would kill them.

Carter seems to grind his teeth, "Alright then. Just compile a list for us and we can have people gather everything tomorrow."

"TOMORROW?! WHAT WILL WE DO TONIGHT?!" Karkat shouts.

**"I Ԋave plenty Øf empty rØØms in the manØr, nØ reasØn tØ kick yØu guys tØ Øne Øf tԊe tØwn inn's wԊile tԊey sit vacant."** Everyone turns to the troll that still captivated their attention as she walked into the room. Her fins seem to tint a bit under the troll's gaze.

They couldn't decide if they were more captivated by her looks or by her voice which seemed to command attention despite being so gentle.

"Are you sure about this Queen Mercon? We aren't even sure if they-"

Mercon cuts off Carter, **"TԊank yØu General. I'll sԊØw tԊem arԊund tԊe manØr now."**

Carter grumbles before leaving the throne room. The trolls don't know where he's fucking off too but as long as it's far away from them it'll be fine.

**"Please fØllØw me, I'll spare tԊe pleasantries Øf tԊe place since yØu guys will be leaving sØØn."** Mercon smiles as she starts walking down the main hallway.

The group follows behind her but no one says anything. They know something is up and that she can't speak freely out in the open.


	8. Chapter 8

Be Eridan Ampora.

You think back to earlier, to when Sollux had joked around about you being hopeless when it came to quadrants.

Mercon seemed nice enough. And she was a highblood. But she seemed to have the same mindset as Feferi, that the blood caste didn't matter. What was it with fuschia bloods these days and trying to ignore their rightful place as leaders?

You focus back on the gorgeous troll leading the group through the hallway. She walked so gracefully it was almost as if she was floating.

When she left the bakery earlier she had pulled on a cape that matched the gorgeous hue of fuschia around her eyes and the sign on her shirt. A cape almost similar to yours except it had a hood.

It covered up her limp wings and it made you wonder if she wore it for that exact reason.

However it left her gorgeous long hair flowing as if she were swimming in the water. It added to how mystical she looked.

Your brain was suddenly filled with a thought you'd never had before.

Maybe... you weren't good enough for this troll.

Your thoughts are cut short as she pauses in the middle of the hallway. She peaks behind the group to make sure no one is there before leading them into a room.

Upon entry you notice the room looks like the living room at Dave's hive back in your universe. A huge couch around a coffee table and a bunch of shelves covered with movies, games, and anything you could use to pass the time with friends.

Although, everything looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

Once everyone was in the room Mercon rushed to close the door, leaning her ear against it so she could listen for anyone who was coming.

"it shouldn't take us too long to get the portal working but i think we'd all kind of like an explanation." Aradia speaks up.

**"Similar tØ ԊØw yØu guys Ԋad your session, we Ԋad Øurs. We finished almØst twØ sweeps agØ. WØn, Øf cØurse. The Ԋumans Øf Øur session decided tØ gØ tԊeir separate way since we didn't exactly get alØng tԊat well. NØt tԊat we Ԋated tԊem but, tԊey didn't exactly like us."** Mercon sighs, keeping her ear to the door as she continues.

**"We Ԋad all decided tԊis tØwn was perfect fØr us. MØst Øf my mØirails had wings or fins, if nØt bØtԊ like me. SØ being tԊis clØse tØ tԊe Øcean but also Ԋaving this much air tØ fly arØund was sØmething we all enjØyed. When we first arrived the Ԋumans were scared Øf us but we prØved tØ tԊem tԊat we were friendly. We spent a sweep building up tԊis tØwn, dØing everytԊing we cØuld tØ prØve tԊat we Ønly wanted tØ be 'friends'. Eventually everyØne lØØked up tØ us. The mayØr at the time decided tԊat Øne trØll shØuld be tԊe leader and for sØme reasØn everyØne vØted for me. I mean... I guess tԊe reasØn was because I'm a pure blØØd but... TԊere were better leaders in tԊe grØup. I mainly wØn the Ԋuman vØte."** She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before continuing.

**"TԊe guards came by themselves. Said tԊat if we had a queen tԊat she Ԋad tØ be prØtected. Carter came alØng and tØØk cØmmand. Trained all tԊese guards up. And sure enØugh nØw we Ԋave tԊis rØyal army. I started tØ bring up cØncerns, tԊat we Ԋad tØØ much pØwer. We didn't cØme Ԋere tØ rule Øver the Ԋumans, just to live amongst tԊem. When I mentiØned this, Carter asked me if I'd serve the Ԋumans. Mind and bØdy."** Her eyes open back up and everyone can see how glassy they are.

**"TԊat night Carter and tԊe guards gathered all Øf us into tԊe tԊrØne rØØm. Carter asked me again, if I'd serve the Ԋumans. Everytime... Everytime I even questiØned wԊat tԊat meant anØther Øne Øf my mØirailes was..."** Mercons shoulders start to shake, **"I still remember ԊØw tԊat tԊrØne rØØm lØØked. All Øf their bØdies... All the blØØd..."**

Nepeta slowly makes her way to Mercon, ":33 < can i hug you?"

Mercon slowly nods as tears flow down her cheeks and Nepeta hugs her.

After a few minutes of Mercon silently crying into Nepeta's shoulder she calms down.

"DiD yOu MoThEr FuCkIn DyE yOuR hAiR?" Gamzee asks. He'd been particularly quiet this whole trip.

**"NØ uԊ... It became like tԊis a little after tԊey killed everyØne. Like as I used up my psycԊic abilities. I can't Ԋeal as well as I did befØre. NØt in tԊis universe at least... Maybe if I gØ back tØ yØur universe my Ԋair will turn black again and my wings will fix tԊemselves."** Mercon wipes the remnants of the tears away and Eridan can't help but wish he was the one comforting her. Not Nepeta.

Aradia raises an eyebrow, "what happened to your wings?"

Mercon takes a deep breath and stretches her wings out as best she can, making all the trolls gasp.

They were covered in tears and scratches and cuts. There are even some spots where there are obvious human handprints.

The room is overcome with silence and Mercon lets out a painfully shaky breath as she relaxes her wings.

"WE'RE GETTING YOU OUT OF HERE." Karkat announces.


	9. Chapter 9

**"And tԊis Øne will be yØur rØØm. It used tØ belØng tØ my mØirail, Anvade, wԊØ was in the viØlet caste... I dØn't know I just figured yØu'd like tԊis rØØm because Øf tԊe cØlØrs and stuff.."** Mercon leads Eridan into a room.

He was the last of the group to be given a room so it was just the two of them.

**"I'll cØme get yØu in tԊe mØrning fØr breakfast. If sØmething is wrØng Ør anything my rØØm is at tԊe end of tԊe Ԋall."**

Eridan nods and she turns to leave. He wants to say something to comfort her and finds himself reaching his hand out to stop her from leaving but he's too slow. She's already gone.

He sighs and internally curses at himself before turning back around to his room.

There were a bunch of pictures, not only of who he assumed was Anvade but the entire troll group.

The whole group seemed close. As if they were all moirails, some of them even matesprits. Very different from the group he was in. None of them were in quadrants with him. Though he was the only one that had this problem.

The door to his room swings open and he turns to see Karkat in the entrance.

"COME ON FICHFUCK YOU NEED TO ANSWER YOUR PHONE! WE'RE ALL MEETING IN THE ROOM SHE SHOWED US BEFORE."

Eridan just nods and follows Karkat out and back to the hangout room.

The two walked into the group already discussing different ways for the group to get Mercon out.

"Eiither way, we can't over2tay our welcome or the human2 miight deciide two kiill u2 two. And iif Mercon really ha2 exhau2teed all her p2ychiic abiiliitiie2 the way iit 2eem2 2he ha2 2he won't be able two 2top them." Sollux points out, resting his elbows on his knees.

Karkat takes a seat on the far end of the couch while Eridan stays standing.

"AS IF I'D BE KILLED BY A HUMAN." Karkat grunts.

Aradia's hands fly to her ears and her eyes snap to Sollux who's also rubbing his ears.

"Ii hear iit two," He nods at her.

"Hear wwhat?" Eridan asks but that question is soon answered.

And if they blink they see it too.

Carter.

**"YØu can't dØ tԊis right nØw..."**

"And who said I can't? You're lucky I'm even humoring you by letting these trolls live to go home. If you misbehave even just a little you're the one that'll be punished for it."

**"TԊey're staying just a few rØØms dØwn, tԊey migԊt Ԋear!"**

"That just means I'm doing a good job. You know, any lady in this town would be lucky to have me. I don't know why you insist on fighting this every time."

The group gasps as they see, from Mercon's point of view, Carter shove her against the wall.

**"NØ I... please... If you let up Øn tԊis for now until tԊey I'll... I'll let yØu dØ tԊe special tԊing and I wØn't figԊt back."**

"Oh yeah?"

**"And yØu wØn't even Ԋave tØ tie me up."**

"If you fall through on this then I'll give you to the entirety of the guards again. And remember what happened last time. You couldn't walk for over a week." He leans in close to Mercon's ear, a ghostly whisper sending shivers down all of the trolls spines. "Remember that, oh mighty queen."

Carter leaves a few seconds pass before the trolls watch as Mercon rushes to the bathroom and throws up. The vision seems to start fading out but they hear her sobbing.

Everything fades out but they still hear crying. They all look upon themselves until their vision falls on Nepeta who was sobbing. Equius rushes to comfort his moirail as Eridan starts to walk to the door.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Karkat asks.

Eridan doesn't even turn back before answering, "to get mercon. if wwe're going to discuss getting her out of here then she should be here too."

Karkat sighs but nods in agreement and Sollux fast walks to join Eridan.

They had thought the situation was bad. Like she was being forced to do a lot of work. But not on this level.

Eridan knocks on Mercon's door but Sollux pushes it open before she can answer. The two walk in and she's standing in the entrance to her bathroom rushing to wipe the tears from her face. She runs a towel down her face, not wanting to look up at the duo in case they saw what a mess she was.

"We 2aw." Sollux mentions.

**"I'm... sØrry?"** Mercon's voice makes Eridan's chest tighten.

"Wwe saww wwhatevver the fuck it wwas that just happened. You mind projected it so wwe could." Eridan mumbles.

**"I- I'm sØ sØrry... I didn't-"** Silent tears fall down her face again.

"Your p2ychiic abiiliitiie2 much really be out of wack, come on. 2pend 2ome tiime wiith u2 iin that game room. Take a much needed break," Sollux motions his head in the direction of the other room and starts to walk back.

Eridan and Mercon follow but Mercon pauses in her doorway, making Eridan pause as well.

He looks over at her, locking his eyes with hers. She takes a deep breath but it doesn't help and more tears pour down her face.

His chest tightens more and he gently reaches out, wiping her tears away before opening his arms up so she could hug him instead of him hugging her.

It takes her a second but she jumps into his arms, crying into his chest.

He gently rubs her back in small circles, "Wwe're gonna get you out of here. I promise."


	10. Chapter 10

The group of trolls watches in surprise as seemingly every person from the town comes up, one by one, to offer their thanks to Mercon.

All the trolls except Sollux and Karkat of course. Those two were working on the portal since Carter had gotten them all the materials they needed.

They still weren't exactly sure what exactly was being celebrated but after a while everyone had settled down with a plate of food.

Humans were still carefully approaching Mercon so she wasn't eating.

Manners.

Every single human seemed to look at her with utter amazement though. She must really do a lot for the town.

Aradia was off in a corner of the event, trying to watch everything happening. She's caught off guard when a human wriggler comes up to her.

"can i help you?" She looks down at the small human.

"Are you going to take her away?"

"what do you mean?"

"Are you going to take Queen Mercon away? I won't be mad if you do. She must be lonely without her friends here. You guys are her friends right? I want her to be happy! Will you guys make her happy?"

Aradia takes a second to process this. This young wriggler could pick up that Mercon wasn't happy? From the little that she had witnessed Mercon did an amazing job putting on the front that the guards must have trained her to put on.

She leans down and whispers, "we'll do our best, little wriggler, but keep it a secret okay? some people probably don't want the queen to leave."

"Okay! Pinky promise!" The wriggler holds out his pinky and Aradia makes the silly little pinky promise before he runs back to his group of friends.

After all the citizens thanked Mercon she got a small break to eat some food which the trolls frowned at because it wasn't long enough for her to properly eat enough food for the amount of work she had been doing these past few days.

No wonder she couldn't heal properly.

After not even ten minutes of eating food she stands and starts serving a bunch of pastries to people who thanked her again, happy that they got to be so close to the queen.


	11. Chapter 11

Mercon had spent most of the day in the throne room, Carter bombarding her with various questions that had to do with the town and noting down her answers.

Most of her decisions he disagreed with and would write his own notes beside where he wrote down hers.

Eridan refused to leave her side which definitely pissed off Carter, and he was glad he could fuck with the guy so easily.

The throne door opens and Sollux comes in with a guard in tow.

"Did you finally decide to accept some extra technicians as help?" Carter smirks.

Sollux smirks back, happy to shoot down the creep. "Actually ju2t needed 2ome more 2uppliie2. Karkat broke 2omethiing."

**"Øf cØurse Ԋe did, General will yØu gØ witԊ Ԋim tØ tԊe stØre and make sure everytԊing is paid fØr."** Mercon quietly rejoices at finally being able to get away from Carter.

"Yes my queen," Carter offers a short bow before leaving with Sollux and the other guard in tow.

It's quiet for a while before Mercon scoots over in the large throne and pulls Eridan down beside her.

The quiet continues but this time it's more comfortable.

"Wwhat wwas it like?" Eridan speaks up.

**"Ԋm?"**

"Your troll group."

**"We were all mØirailes. I tԊink.. We were mØre like family. Except fØr the few Øf us tԊat were matesprits Øf cØurse. We Ԋad Øur figԊts but they never lasted lØng. We all knew what tԊe ØtԊer liked and wØuld gØ Øut Øf Øur ways tØ make each Øthers days."** Mercon smiles at the fond memories filling her head, **"Øne time I came ԊØme tØ everyØne decked Øut in scuba gear. The Ønes tԊat didn't have fins at least. And we Ԋad a beach day."**

It's silent again and Eridan let's it sit that way for a while. Watching as the happy memories flash through her eyes. The gentle smile that graced her face now made her features look soft.

It made him want to kiss her...

**"WԊat's yØur trØll grØup like?"** She breaks the silence, looking up into Eridan's eyes.

She didn't seem to mind how close the two were but Eridan was suddenly aware and it made his fins flush ever so lightly.

"Fucking horrible. For me at least. Evveryone else has at least one quadrant filled. I don't havve any filled. No one likes me enough to evven be a moirail and no one hates me enough to be a kismesis. You'd think they'd showw some respect for me being that I'm royalty!" Eridan goes on and Mercon can't help but giggle a bit at that.

"Wwhat? Wwas it something I said?" Eridan feels a soft smile on his face from her giggle.

**"RØyalty ԊuԊ? Are all ԊighblØØds really rØyalty in yØur universe?"**

"Of course wwe wwere! Are highbloods not royalty in this one?"

**"Well... We can be. It's mØre Ør less just wԊØever is the better leader is rØyalty. The ԊighblØØds are tԊe Ønes tԊat are bØrn with mØre pØwerful psycԊic abilities. But it dØesn't mean we get the tԊrØne."** Mercon explains a bit.

"So it seems our wworlds are evver so slightly different." Eridan smiles and Mercon nods.

They fall into another comfortable silence and Eridan watches as her eyes seem to fill with self doubt.

"Are you havving second thoughts?" He whispers.

**"WԊat if the guards turn Øn tԊe tØwn peØple? I'd never fØrgive myself if innØcent peØple were Ԋurt just sØ I cØuld be Ԋappy..."**

"Wwell howw wwas the towwn wwhen you first settled in wwith evveryone?"

Mercon takes a second to think about this before replying, **"Like any nØrmal tØwn. A mayØr and everyØne sØrt Øf lØØked Øut fØr each ØtԊer."**

"Wwell wwho's to say it wwon't go back to that wway wwhen you leavve?"

Mercon seems to accept this answer and relaxes a bit more into the throne, Eridan running his fingers through her hair.


	12. Chapter 12

The trolls are all relaxing in the hangout room. Even Sollux and Karkat were taking a short break from constructing the portal.

It had been almost three days so they were close to finishing it but still had a bit of work to do for sure.

Their relaxation session is put on hold when Mercon bursts through the door, slamming it shut and pressing her ear against it the way she did anytime she was in the room.

"Wwhat's up doll?" Eridan asks from his seat on the couch.

He hadn't left her side since the first day they arrived but earlier she didn't give him a choice, saying she needed some time to think things through.

**"YØu guys Ԋave tØ get tԊat pØrtal wØrking witԊin tԊe day. TԊey aren't planning Øn letting yØu get tԊrØugh it. I just ØverԊeard Carter and sØme guards talking abØut killing everyØne."** Mercon manages out, her voice obviously a bit shaky.

The trolls all stood to attention now, Eridan making his way over to her side so he could hopefully calm her down a bit.

"DID YOU OVERHEAR ANYTHING ELSE?" Karkat asks.

Sollux nods, "Liike 2omethiing we 2hould look out for?"

**"I Ԋeard sØmething abØut drugging Øur dinner. Sleeping drugs sØ tԊey cØuld dØ wԊatever it is tԊey're planning..."** Mercon frowns.

"Well... fuck. Thii2 put2 a dent iin everythiing but iit ii2 po22iible. We need all hand2 on deck." Sollux runs his fingers through his hair and everyone nods.

**"YØu all wØrk Øn tԊat and I'll dØ my best tØ keep everyØne busy tԊat way tԊey dØn't suspect anytԊing."** Mercon nods, looking through the group.

"I'm staying wwith you." Eridan locks eyes with Mercon and she shakes her head.

Sollux grunts, "Diidn't you hear me fii2hdiick? all hand2 on deck."

**"Ԋe's right Eri. If yØu all wØrk tØgetԊer yØu can get it dØne."**

"You hear that, 'erii', ii'm riight." Sollux cackles as the trolls start to leave the room.

"But.. wwhat if.." Eridan is cut off by Mercon hugging him before rushing out of the room.

"COME ON LOVERFISH, WE HAVE WORK TO DO." Karkat nudges Eridan as all the trolls make their way to where they're constructing the portal.


	13. Chapter 13

Mercon feels herself getting increasingly anxious as dinner time crawls closer and even jumps a bit when Equius comes into the throne room.

"D --> May I please have a private moment with Queen Mercon? I've done something a lowb100d should never do and I need her to punish me." Equius all but begs the guards, sweat gathering on his brow.

The guards grunt and look at each other with disgust before leaving.

"I don't see any issue with that, I'm going to go discuss some things with the chef. I'll be right back my queen," Carter bows before leaving, following the guards out.

Once the throne room is closed Equius turns to Mercon and wipes his brow. Good acting.

"D --> Portal is almost done, we need to go."

Mercon freezes. She had decided that she was definitely going but somehow all the hope that rushed back into her system at that moment was too much for her.

"D --> I apologize for this," Equius frowns before lifting Mercon over his shoulder and running as fast as he could to the original cliff edge that they had all appeared on at first. He took multiple alleyways, avoiding the public's eyes so that they'd have less of a chance of alerting the guards.

The trolls all notice Equius coming and start working faster to boot up the portal.

Equius places Mercon down gently, she was still a bit frozen. She really couldn't believe this was happening.

Eridan makes his way to her side, "I'vve been thinking and I knoww wwe'vve only knowwn each other for a couple days but... wwhen wwe go back do you think wwe could be moirailes?"

**"Eri, I'm flusԊed fØr yØu."**

Mercons words catch Eridan off guard and he freezes. Sure he had flushed feelings for her too but he didn't think she'd return them in a million years.

"Oh MoThEr FuCkInG sHiT! tHe QuEeN iS fLuShEd FoR oUr OwN fIsH mAn!" Gamzee cuts in.

Both Eridan and Mercons fins flush but they all snap out of their little moment when they hear shouting.

They turn to see the entire royal army rushing them with guns.

Sollux and Karkat's shouts are drowned out but everyone starts working even faster and in a split second the portal springs to life.

All the trolls shout and start running through the portal. Soon enough it's just Eridan and Mercon rushing towards the portal.

A grenade smacks Eridan in the leg and he falls over. He and Mercon freeze, staring at the explosive. They had literal seconds to live now.

Mercon yanks him to his feet and kisses him before shoving him into the portal.

Eridan's last sight as he falls through the portal is Mercon getting shot in the chest and falling off the cliff as the explosion destroys her only hope at a better life.

His only hope.

He hits the solid ground of Dirk's lab and is immediately surprised by the tears falling from his eyes.

"STOP CRYING FISHDICK HERE!" Karkat slaps the teleportation bracelet on his wrist then shoves him back through the portal, "JUST TURN THE BLUE NOB AND PRESS IT!"

"Go get your mate2priit!" Eridan hears as he's teleported back to where the group had been when they first arrived here a few days ago.

He doesn't freeze though. He sees all the guards still running towards the now destroyed portal and he notices a flash of fuschia still falling.

He'd never run so fast in his life.

All the guards see is a blur of purple as Eridan's cape trails behind him, diving off the cliff towards Mercon.

Be Mercon Krofio.

You had closed your eyes after shoving Eridan through the portal. You didn't want to imagine anything else other than his eyes.

"Mercon!!"

You open your eyes despite your previous thoughts.

There he was. The man that had captivated your mind since you first laid eyes on him. His glasses aren't there anymore and his scarf was floating behind him slowly. His cape was outstretched. A truly magnificent sight.

**"WԊat a nice tԊing tØ see befØre I die."** You whisper before closing your eyes again.

It was only a trick your mind was playing on you after all.

At least you could still spread a bit of hope before your death.


	14. Chapter 14

Be Mercon Krofio.

You slowly sit up, knowing you had to be in a dream bubble.

What memory was this? You didn't recognize your surroundings at all.

You stretch a bit, your entire body feels sore.

Standing up you walk around the room, inspecting the belongings and various decorations. You must have snuck into one of Eridan's dream bubbles because this room definitely looks like he had a hand in decorating it.

You pause when you get to a full length mirror.

A small smile graces your face.

It had been a while since you looked like this.

Your ankle length hair was pitch black and your matching black wings stood at attention behind you.

You felt a few tears trickle down your cheek and you wiped them as your attention was dragged to what must be the hallway outside.

So other people are in this dream bubble?

You wonder who and approach the door quietly so you can listen in.

"She'll wake up when she's fully recovered!" A british voice cuts through the air.

"it's been like a month!" Eridan's voice makes you smile gently. Definitely his dream bubble.

"And she had a lot of recovering to do. Get the fuck out of here, we have work to do." A more gruff voice makes the voices quiet down.

You figure this would be a better time than any to go greet the other people in the dream bubble so you slide the door open slowly.

You close your eyes a bit, shocked that the light in the hallway was so bright compared to the room. Though, to be fair, you do note that the lights were dimmed in the room you woke up in.

Once you recover from the brightness you lock eyes with Eridan and suddenly you're not so sure that you're in a dream bubble.

Had you actually survived? But how?

The trio had also seemed to freeze upon sight of you. Besides Dirk no one else had been into that room since you were brought back.

"Is.. that her?" The british voice which you now place to a lad with glasses and messy brown hair asks.

"I'll add that to my notes then. Upon full recovery the white hair turned black again." The blonde wearing sunglasses writes something into a notepad before turning back to Eridan, "Nevermind Eridan. You can stay."

Without another word the blonde disappears down the hallway.

The brit steps towards you, "Are you alright? Thirsty?"

You nod. You couldn't even try to form words. Your throat was coarse.

The brit rushes to bring you a bottle of water which you down very quickly.

After he gives you another water bottle he offers a small wave, "My names uh Jake... If you need anything just call. I'm a room away."

And just like that it's you and Eridan.

The room is quiet though you can almost hear your heartbeat. You wonder if Eridan can hear it.

It beats for him.

**"I uԊm... I never waited tØ make sure yØu Ԋad red feelings fØr me as well befØre kissing yØu. I'm sØrr-"**

You're cut off by Eridan kissing you.

It took a few seconds before you realized what was happening and then you kissed back. You draped your arms over his shoulders and he wrapped his around your waist.

The kiss held a lot of emotions.

The main one being hope.

Eridan finally pulled away, resting his forehead against yours. "I'm flushed for you too Mercon, please do me the pleasure of being my matesprit?"

**"I'd want nØtԊing mØre in life."**


End file.
